Galinstan Liquid Metal Electrical Contacts for Monolayer-Modified Silicon Surfaces.

Galinstan is the brand name for a low-melting gallium-based alloy, which is a promising nontoxic alternative to mercury, the only elemental metal found in the liquid state at room temperature. Liquid alloys such as Galinstan have found applications as electromechanical actuators, sensors, and soft contacts for molecular electronics. In this work, we validate the scope of Galinstan top contacts to probe the electrical characteristics of Schottky junctions made on Si(111) and Si(211) crystals modified with Si-C-bound organic monolayers.

Retrospective data analysis of animal poisoning events in Liguria.

Intentional poisoning represents a serious risk to domestic and wild animals, and it can be an environmental and human health issue as well . This paper is a retrospective study, which covers a decade, based on animal poisoning cases and poisoned baits that were submitted for diagnostic examinations to the Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piedmont, Liguria and the Aosta Valley (IZS-PLVA) in Liguria region. All data were collected through a passive surveillance system introduced in Italy by a decree of the Ministry of Health in January 2009.

Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistances of spp. Isolated from Wild Boars in Liguria Region, Italy.

spp. is an important zoonotic agent. Wild boars might host this pathogen in the intestinal tract and might represent a risk for spp.

Evidence of Antimicrobial Resistance and Presence of Pathogenicity Genes in Isolate from Wild Boars.

() is a very important zoonosis andwild boars play a pivotal role in its transmission. In the last decade, the wild boar population has undergone a strong increase that haspushed them towards urbanized areas, facilitating the human-wildlife interface and the spread of infectious diseases from wildlife to domestic animals and humans. Therefore, it is important to know the serotype, antimicrobial resistance and presence of pathogenicity genes of () isolated in species.

Design Space Approach for Preservative System Optimization of an Anti-Aging Eye Fluid Emulsion.

The use of preservatives must be optimized in order to ensure the efficacy of an antimicrobial system as well as the product safety. Despite the wide variety of preservatives, the synergistic or antagonistic effects of their combinations are not well established and it is still an issue in the development of pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. The purpose of this paper was to establish a space design using a simplex-centroid approach to achieve the lowest effective concentration of 3 preservatives (methylparaben, propylparaben, and imidazolidinyl urea) and EDTA for an emulsion cosmetic product.

Ethnobiology of snappers (Lutjanidae): target species and suggestions for management.

In this study, we sought to investigate the biology (diet and reproduction) and ethnobiology (fishers knowledge and fishing spots used to catch snappers) of five species of snappers (Lutjanidae), including Lutjanus analis, Lutjanus synagris, Lutjanus vivanus, Ocyurus chrysurus, and Romboplites saliens at five sites along the northeast (Riacho Doce, Maceió in Alagoas State, and Porto do Sauípe, Entre Rios at Bahia State) and the southeast (SE) Brazilian coast (Paraty and Rio de Janeiro cities at Rio de Janeiro State, and Bertioga, at São Paulo State.).We collected 288 snappers and interviewed 86 fishermen.

Cl- channels in basolateral TAL membranes. XIX. Cytosolic Cl- regulates mmCIC-Ka and mcCIC-Ka channels.

We evaluated the effects of culturing mouse MTAL cells under conditions that suppressed steady-state cytosolic Cl- on chloride channels fused into bilayers from basolateral vesicles of cultured MTAL cells. We used two agents to suppress Cl- entry: 10(-6) M PGE2 and 10(-4) M bumetanide. Basolateral Cl- channels from control cultured MTAL cells exhibited the signature characteristics of mmCIC-Ka channels: increased open-time probability (Po) either by raising cytosolic-face [Cl-] or, at 2 mM cytosolic Cl-, by adding (ATP + PKA), and first-order conductance kinetics.

Chloride channels in basolateral TAL membranes. XVIII. Phenylglyoxal induces functional mcCIC-Ka activity in basolateral MTAL membranes.

Cultured mouse MTAL cells contain more mRNA encoding the Cl- channel mcCIC-Ka, which mediates CTAL Cl- absorption, than mRNA encoding the Cl- channel mmCIC-Ka, which mediates MTAL Cl- absorption. mmCIC-Ka and mcCIC-Ka have three functional differences: 1) mmCIC-Ka open time probability, Po, increases with increasing cytosolic Cl-, but variations in cytosolic Cl- do not affect Po in mcCIC-Ka; 2) mmCIC-Ka is gated by (ATP + PKA), while (ATP + PKA) have no effect on Po in mcCIC-Ka; and 3) mmCIC-Ka channels have single-ion occupancy, while mcCIC-Ka channels have multi-ion occupancy. Using basolateral vesicles from MTAL cells fused into bilayers, we evaluated the effects of 1 mM cytosolic phenylglyoxal (PGO), which binds covalently to lysine or arginine, on Cl- channels.

Cl channels in basolateral TAL membranes. XVII. Kinetic properties of mcClC-Ka, a basolateral CTAL Cl- channel.

This paper describes the kinetics of Cl- flux through mcClC-Ka Cl- channels from basolateral membranes of mouse CTAL cells. We have cloned two separate but highly homologous Cl- channels, mmClC-Ka from cultured mouse MTAL cells and mcClC-Ka from cultured mouse CTAL cells. The mmClC-Ka and mcClC-Ka channels appear to mediate net Cl- absorption in the MTAL and CTAL, respectively.

Cl- channels in basolateral TAL membranes. XVI. MTAL and CTAL cells each contain the mRNAs encoding mmClC-Ka and mcClC-Ka.

Background: Our prior data indicate that two separate but homologous basolateral chloride (Cl-) channels, mmClC-Ka and mcClC-Ka, are the principal mediators of net Cl- absorption in mouse medullary thick ascending limb (MTAL) and cortical thick ascending limb (CTAL) cells, respectively. In the present studies, we evaluated the possibility that there might be translational or post-translational suppression of mmClC-Ka and mcClC-Ka activity in CTAL and MTAL cells, respectively.

Methods: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fragments were prepared that were highly specific for either mmClC-Ka or mcClC-Ka, the cDNAs encoding mmClC-Ka and mcClC-Ka, respectively.

Chloride channels in the loop of Henle.

Cl- transport in the loop of Henle is responsible for reclamation of 25-40% of the filtered NaCl load and for the formation of dilute urine. Our understanding of the physiologic and molecular mechanisms responsible for Cl- reabsorption in both the thin ascending limb and thick ascending limb of Henle's loop has increased greatly over the last decade. Plasma membrane Cl- channels are known to play an integral role in transcellular Cl- transport in both the thin and thick ascending limbs.

Cl(-) channels in basolateral TAL membranes XV. Molecular heterogeneity between cortical and medullary channels.

We have isolated two new and highly homologous cDNAs, mmClC-Ka from mouse outer medulla and mcClC-Ka from mouse cortex. In both cases, mRNA was obtained from the indicated region and subjected to RT-PCR using primers from the nucleotide sequence of rbClC-Ka, which encodes basolateral Cl(-) channels (termed rbClC-Ka) in rabbit MTAL. The predicted protein products of mmClC-Ka and mcClC-Ka, mmClC-Ka and mcClC-Ka, respectively, were 85% homologous and had predicted molecular weights of 75 kDa.

An overview of salt absorption by the nephron.

The purpose of this brief commentary is to provide a description of how renal physiology, and more particularly, renal tubular physiology, has evolved over the past thirty years, since the occasion, obviously, is a celebration of the Thirtieth Course on Advances in Nephrology and Dialysis. My arguments will begin by quoting from Homer Smith's book, The Kidney, and merging Smith's observations, which were integrative in the sense that they did not specify detail, with detailed incursions into tubular physiology, first at a cellular level and then at a molecular level. For convenience, the nephron is divided into four functional segments: the proximal nephron; the ascending limb; the distal nephron; and the collecting duct.

Pathogenesis of renal sodium retention in congestive heart failure.

This article summarizes briefly some factors responsible for edema in chronic congestive heart failure. It is now generally thought that so-called 'backward failure' is a manifestation of diastolic dysfunction, while systolic 'pump failure' is a disease that depends on two key factors: an inadequate cardiac output, and renal salt and water retention. The key elements involved in what might be termed the 'integrated volume response' are hemodynamic and renal factors.

Cl- channels in basolateral TAL membranes. XIV. Kinetic properties of a basolateral MTAL Cl- channel.

Background: This article reports studies on the kinetics of chloride (Cl-) conductance in Cl- channels fused into bilayers from basolaterally enriched vesicles from rabbit outer medulla. A considerable body of evidence indicates that these channels represent rbClC-Ka, a 77 kDa kidney-specific protein of the ClC family of Cl- channels. rbClC-Ka, a candidate channel for mediating net Cl- absorption in the medullary thick ascending limb (MTAL), has been cloned from rabbit outer medulla and localized by immunofluorescence to basolateral membranes of the MTAL.

Cl- channels in basolateral TAL membranes: XIII. Heterogeneity between basolateral MTAL and CTAL Cl- channels.

Background: Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) or adenosine 3', 5'-cyclic phosphate (cAMP) analogues augment net NaCl absorption in microperfused mouse medullary thick ascending limb (MTAL) segments but not in cortical thick ascending limb (CTAL) segments. This ADH-dependent MTAL effect is due to increased apical Na+/K+/2Cl- admittance and apical K+ recycling accompanied by a rise in calculated intracellular Cl- concentrations and by a threefold rise in basolateral Cl- conductance. rbClC-Ka, a 75.